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Post subject: Pickup replacement help !
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 4:41 am
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Iv'e had my american deluxe tele for a couple of months now and I love everything about the guitar, except the n3 noiseless pickups.

I've got this idea in my head that I could put a mini humbucker in the neck and a vintage type pick up in the bridge. I'm going for the 52 reissue hotrod sort of thing.

Does anyone have any idea if this is even possible ? I don't know the first thing about swapping out pickups.

Any help, suggestions or advice greatly appreciated.


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Post subject: Re: Pickup replacement help !
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 5:37 am
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Harray wrote:
Iv'e had my american deluxe tele for a couple of months now and I love everything about the guitar, except the n3 noiseless pickups.

I've got this idea in my head that I could put a mini humbucker in the neck and a vintage type pick up in the bridge. I'm going for the 52 reissue hotrod sort of thing.

Does anyone have any idea if this is even possible ? I don't know the first thing about swapping out pickups.

Any help, suggestions or advice greatly appreciated.


Welcome!

Yes, not only is it possible but it is extremely popular.

First and foremost, decide what you DO like about your OEM pickups. The reason I say this is because obviously, players change out their OEM pickups because they are lacking in certain areas where the replacement pickups make up for these deficiencies. However, with these deficiencies corrected, some of the tonality of the OEMs they really did like are now gone too. Keep this in mind when you start your search for replacement pickups.

If you are looking for specific help in terms of pickup replacements, you'd have to tell us the aforementioned pros and cons about your current pickups, the type of music you play, etc. Be forewarned however that you will get many suggestions, all valid, but these suggestions will run the gamut of what's out there where ultimately, the decision goes right back to your perception of what might work for you.

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Post subject: Re: Pickup replacement help !
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 6:35 am
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Thank you for your response !

There's not a lot I DO like about the n3 noiseless pick ups ! They feel flat, weak, not hot enough. I think I'm going to go with the seymour duncan sd1 mini humbucker in the neck for blues/jazz tones and a vintage style bridge pick up for rock to cut through the mix. Maybe the sd broadcaster. Guess i'll have to get in touch with a guitar tech next !


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Post subject: Re: Pickup replacement help !
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 6:56 am
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Harray wrote:
Thank you for your response !

There's not a lot I DO like about the n3 noiseless pick ups ! They feel flat, weak, not hot enough. I think I'm going to go with the seymour duncan sd1 mini humbucker in the neck for blues/jazz tones and a vintage style bridge pick up for rock to cut through the mix. Maybe the sd broadcaster. Guess i'll have to get in touch with a guitar tech next !


You're quite welcome.

I must admit, your opinion of the N3s and choice of replacements are IDENTICAL to what I was thinking. See, great minds really do think alike!

Good luck!

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Post subject: Re: Pickup replacement help !
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 10:58 am
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Martian,

What Tele pups have you found to be similar in sounding to the 60's Tele sound of say a Buck Owens - Bakersfield vintage? If any.

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Post subject: Re: Pickup replacement help !
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 11:01 am
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tyronne wrote:
Martian,

What Tele pups have you found to be similar in sounding to the 60's Tele sound of say a Buck Owens - Bakersfield vintage? If any.


Only DiMarzio Twang Kings.

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Post subject: Re: Pickup replacement help !
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 4:59 pm
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Ahhhh......may be an obvious question.

Have you first, checked and or changed the height of the pickups? I know what the specs say, but you can get different tonal results with different pickup-to-string spacing.

Second, have you had someone look at the electronics? Moving from those crappy ceramic disc capacitors to good polystyrene will make a subtle but definite difference.

Third, are you using a good guitar-to-amp cord? Not one of those el-cheapo coily cables but one with good connectors and shielding?

Fourth, tried some different amps? There is a wealth of difference from box to box.

If you want to start changing things, go right ahead but I like to be sure there's a problem first.


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Post subject: Re: Pickup replacement help !
Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2012 6:13 am
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I made the same decision about the N3 pickups. Just not for me. I ordered a set from the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop. A Five-Two Rhythm Stack for Tele and a Pearly Gates for Telecaster. Sweet and clean neck and powerful bridge. It is only 8 weeks until delivery: they only wind them after they are ordered.

I'm also going to get rid of that useless S1 switch in the process.

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Post subject: Re: Pickup replacement help !
Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 5:06 am
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Thanks for everyones input. I use george l cables and I play through a deluxe reverb reissue.


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Post subject: Re: Pickup replacement help !
Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:08 am
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Harray wrote:
They feel flat, weak, not hot enough.


That's the problem with most of noiseless designs. They should be called "toneless".

just IMHO

Cheers

David

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Post subject: Re: Pickup replacement help !
Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 9:08 am
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Harray wrote:
Thank you for your response !

There's not a lot I DO like about the n3 noiseless pick ups ! They feel flat, weak, not hot enough. I think I'm going to go with the seymour duncan sd1 mini humbucker in the neck for blues/jazz tones and a vintage style bridge pick up for rock to cut through the mix. Maybe the sd broadcaster. Guess i'll have to get in touch with a guitar tech next !


SD Broadcaster is an excellent pickup. IMHO, very similar to Fender's 52 bridge pickup (I own both). It's never coming out of my guitar.

The main rhythm guitar (Keith part) on this was recorded using my Tele with the SD Broadcaster straight into a '73 Champ with no effects (reverb added in post).
http://soundcloud.com/main-street-exiles/start-me-up

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Post subject: Re: Pickup replacement help !
Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 11:15 am
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Powdered Toast Man wrote:
Harray wrote:
Thank you for your response !

There's not a lot I DO like about the n3 noiseless pick ups ! They feel flat, weak, not hot enough. I think I'm going to go with the seymour duncan sd1 mini humbucker in the neck for blues/jazz tones and a vintage style bridge pick up for rock to cut through the mix. Maybe the sd broadcaster. Guess i'll have to get in touch with a guitar tech next !


SD Broadcaster is an excellent pickup. IMHO, very similar to Fender's 52 bridge pickup (I own both). It's never coming out of my guitar.

The main rhythm guitar (Keith part) on this was recorded using my Tele with the SD Broadcaster straight into a '73 Champ with no effects (reverb added in post).
http://soundcloud.com/main-street-exiles/start-me-up



Sounded great PTM!

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Post subject: Re: Pickup replacement help !
Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 3:51 pm
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Sounded great. Great rhythm work. That's exactly what I want from a tele bridge. I was split between the broadcaster and the jerry donahue. In the end I went with the jerry donahue. Kinda regretting it after hearing that !


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Post subject: Re: Pickup replacement help !
Posted: Wed Feb 29, 2012 7:37 pm
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Harray wrote:
Sounded great. Great rhythm work. That's exactly what I want from a tele bridge. I was split between the broadcaster and the jerry donahue. In the end I went with the jerry donahue. Kinda regretting it after hearing that !


Haha! No worries man! Many guys over at the SD forum think the JD is possibly the best Tele pickup ever made. I'm sure you'll be happy with it.

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